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January 17, 2018
A New Year….and Old Nominations?
*Update as of 1/18/2018: The nominations of Rep. Jim Bridenstine (R-OK) to be NASA Administrator and AccuWeather CEO Barry Myers to be NOAA Administrator, again cleared the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee on party line votes. The nominees will now be voted on by the entire Senate. 2017 was a whirlwind of a year. With a new President came new nominees to be the heads of our federal science agencies. As …
July 18, 2017
House Rejects Trump’s Budget, but Still Cuts Science
Appropriations Update: Part 2 Leaders in the House of Representatives have directed the Appropriations Committee to introduce and consider all 12 appropriations bills before the chamber breaks for August recess. Overall, science fared poorly in the House spending bills, although most agencies did not receive the drastic cuts proposed by the President’s budget request. Here’s a recap of the Energy and Water spending bill, which includes funding for the Department …
July 17, 2017
Science Fares Poorly in House Spending Bills
Appropriations Update: Part 1 Leaders in the House of Representatives have directed the Appropriations Committee to introduce and consider all 12 appropriations bills before the chamber breaks for August recess. Overall, science fared poorly in the House spending bills, although most agencies did not receive the drastic cuts proposed by the President’s budget request. Here’s a recap of the Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill for fiscal year 2018 (FY18), which includes …
July 12, 2017
Reflections on a Society Doorknock: Engaging Policy Makers
Editors Note: This blog post was cross-posted from Wiley’s Discover the Future of Research blog. By Lexi Shultz, Vice President of Public Affairs, American Geophysical Union Thanks to the terrific staff at Wiley, I recently had the opportunity to join other leaders from scientific societies for a day on Capitol Hill – or, as Wiley calls it, a “Doorknock.” During this event, representatives from half a dozen or so science …
June 8, 2017
MIT Student Policy Group Shines on Capitol Hill
Editor’s Note: The following guest blog is written by Tiziana Smith, a PhD student in the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at MIT and a graduate of the MIT Technology and Policy Master’s Program. When I attended the AGU conference last fall for the first time, I knew from the beginning that I wanted to attend as many science communication and science policy events as possible. At these events, I …
June 1, 2017
Environmental Protection Agency: Cuts to Science and Personnel
The President’s budget proposes an overall reduction in the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) funding by 30% relative to the FY2017 Omnibus bill. The agency’s Science and Technology programs would see nearly a 45% reduction under the President’s budget to streamline EPA’s work, including cuts to research in the Air and Energy, Water Resources, Community Sustainability, and Chemical Safety programs to name a few. Programs that would be eliminated under the …
April 18, 2017
Science Fellows Coming to State Legislatures Across the United States
Editor’s Note: The following guest blog is written by Rebecca French, Director of Community Engagement at the Connecticut Institute for Resilience & Climate Adaptation (CIRCA) and former AGU Congressional Science Fellow On February 16, 2017, the California Council on Science & Technology (CCST) announced planning grants for nine states to start science policy fellowships modeled on their successful program in California. The nine states include my home state of Connecticut …
April 12, 2017
All Politics is Local – Engaging your Legislators Locally
Today is the 82nd day of the Trump presidency and science has already emerged as a significant issue, although not always in ways the scientific community supports. Given this environment, scientists and non-scientists alike are asking, “What can we do to support science?” Currently, your members of Congress are back home in their states and districts for April recess. April recess runs from Saturday, 8 April through the weekend of …
March 15, 2017
You Spoke, We Listened: Science Legislation Update Part 2
After our previous post on science legislation being considered in the new Congress, we heard from you that having these types of posts is useful. Today, we will give you an overview of some new science-related legislation that is up for consideration. NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 (S.442)—Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX): An updated version of last Congress’s House and Senate bills of the same name, the bill was negotiated …
March 2, 2017
Amidst Cabinet Nominations, Congress Considers Science Legislation
The 115th Congress is now in full swing. With the flurry of cabinet nominations being considered, it’s easy to miss the legislation that has been or is being considered in Congress. In this blog post, we will give you an overview of some of the science-related legislation that is up for consideration or has recently been passed. Department of Energy Research & Innovation Act (H.R. 589)—Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX): The …
